phillips



D. L. FRIES AND H. F. PHILLIPS. METHOD OF MAKING ARIVIOR PIERCING BULLETS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-20,1918.

1,318,860. Patented Oct. 14,1919.

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xinirrn'mmconn rnrns, on CAMBRIDGE, AND HAROLD F. 'PIIIL IPs; or soMnItvILnn;

' MASSACHUSETTS.

METHOD on MAKING ARMOR-PIERCING, BULLE'ISi To all 'w hom it may concern Be' 'it' known that we, DAVID LINCOLN Finn sand HAROLD'F. PHILLIPS, both citizens of theUnited States, residing, respectively, atGambridge and somerville, in the county ofMiddle'sex, and State of Massachusetts,

'halveinvehted new and useful Improvements in Methods of Making Armor-Piercing Bulletsfofwhi ch the following is a specificatiohi" The present invention relates to 'methods ofmaking jacketed bullets for small arms adapted to pierce armor, and for other purpe ts. It is already known that the most efficient type of armor-piercing bullet is one having a hardened steel core or body andca jacket of so-called cupro nickel, the same beihg manyf nickel and other metals, the composition of which is well known and understoochjand is not a part of our invention. Ithas "been further determined that such jacket should'contain a'considerable quannay of metal atthe point of the bullet; in

other words that the point should be of solid metal having relatively considerable mass], It is obviously of importance also thatflthe exterior of the jacket should' be 's'irioothand symmetrical whereby to diminish wind resistance and particularly un'e distributed resistance such as would tend tofdefiect the bullet in flight.

Bullets of'th'e general type above briefly set"forth being'known, but the heretofore known methods of making them having cer- 'talindefects whichcause the finished 'prod- 11 tobeimperfect, it has been our object to idevisea new and improved method of making suchbulletswhich will result in a. superiofproduct, 'free from the defects which have characterized: armor piercingl bullets lfiadehccording'to othermethodslfl Our inventionco'ns ists principally in an improved majaabf forming the soft metal jacket of such a 'bulle't' or projectile, by which the 'desired quantity of--metal is located at the point of. the j acket, and such metal is there locatedin arcompaot, solid condition, without internal cavities,and equally without external gioo'vesfridges, or other irregulariwhich' would be liable 'to impede or defleet the bullet in its flight.

' Inf-the drawingswherein we have illustiated'fthe product of this method in differ- *fit 'stags of development, and the tools Specification of Lettersjratent.

Application filed August 20, 1918. 'sriai'naasosso.

Patented preferably employed in ca'rrying olit itlfe method, i I 3 Figure 1 is a sectional view of afdrawn cup' which constitutes the blank from which the jacket ismade. Figs. '2, 3, 4,;and 5' are similar views showing the'bla nkfin' succes sive stages of development. Figfitifi si a tional view of the finished bullet having 'the hardened steel core or body inpla'ee within the soft metal jacket. Figs. 7, 8, 9, 10," an'd ll areseotional views showing"the'ciiiiiifli ifmental punches and dies,ithat isfth'ej'ffom ing tools by which the'siiccessive stagesdr the method are carried "out. I

The same reference eharaetetsjifidieate the same parts in all'th'e figures; A v I Nothing in the foregoingstatmsm o r in the following description is to be undefs as limiting the method to the speeific'm tsrials or substances herein named as" beingthe Pr r ma r s fo jmaki 'gthqo efaaa 1' yr spectivel of the bullet; Thus the term hardened steeliiused inidescript'ioii' steel, or other alloy of ironwhichi m e hard by reason of thecomp'o sition ofji al} loy or its treatment; and; generically "inthe core is intended to include foriifff eludes any other metal, if sa himymaae available for the purpose, having comparable to that required of martin;

piercing projectile, and other metals that this may also be 11s dnsfthe1eo 1esof b ts having the type of The jac'k'etl' produced ccording". :to method may be maria of Q metal, whether the specific alloy kn wn,eup'i f nickel, or other metal a dapted to beem acket inert] described. 7 1

ployed as a jacketand.toservethe peculiar functions served by the nickel jacket {at armor-piercing I projectile; I, Thereforeflthe term cupro nickel? here used isnierelyltli'e descriptive typical designation of any nietal suitable for the, particular- -purpose. 1 I

In carrying out the mfthoidwe 'fifisttake a blank, which is in the: form of a deep cup a, substantially like; that shewn, in Fig 71;, this cup having an external diameter ap proximately or substantially that of "the completed bullet to be ma-deli the is or may be made" by famili'ar'old methods which are neither a part'ofoiu' invention'no r modified thereby, we donot here detail the ma ne of m ki i h i lnalbutlea an be understood that the cup is already avail- Y able.- The first step in our process is to indent the bottom of the cup inwardly, forming an inward offset 5. This operation may conveniently be performed by tools such as shown in Fig. 7 consisting of a die 1 having a bore which fits the exterior of the cup, and in the bottom of which is placed an anvil or set 2, and a punch 3, which substantially fits the interior of the cup, has an external shoulder 4, and is passed into the cup and forced toward the anvil 2. The

. end of said punch is recessed, complementally to the anvil 2, whereby it coacts wlth cup.

'the'r tapered With a convex curvature.

the latter in indenting the bottom. A shoulder 4 on the punch, bearing on the edge of the cup forces down the walls thereof, and prevents the bottom being sheared by the punch.

The next steps consist in tapering and consolidating the end of the jacket. These steps are performed by a succession of dies 5, 7,9, and 11, respectively, and complemental punches 6, 8, 10, and 12, respectively. In the die 5 the indented end of the jacket is reduced'and tapered somewhat as shown in Figs. 3 and 8, whereby the sides of the indentation b are crowded against the walls of the In the next step, shown in Figs. 4 and 9, the end is still further reduced in diameter and the walls adjacent thereto furthis operation also the interior of the jacket adjacent the offset end wall I) is shaped to a desired form by the punch 8. In the next step, carried out by the die 9 and punch 10 shown in Fig. 10, the point is further reduced in diameter, the cavity in the point adjacent tothe end wall is further closed, and the interior and exterior surfaces brought still nearer to the finished form. In performing thefinal operation a die 11 and punch 12 (Fig. 11) are used, which have the final finished form of the exterior and interior, respectively, of the jacket, and thereby the end cavity is wholly closed and the jacket is given the required taper, curvature, and symmetry; while the interior is formed to fit the core.

Finally the steel core a is inserted in the jacket and the open end of the latter is flanged over the base of the core byany suitalble means in any desired way as shown in Fig, 6,

This series of operations produces a jacket having the desired form and characteristics and particularly possessing at the nose (Z a solid mass of metal sufficient in quantity to produce the desired effect of softening or cushioning the impact of'the projectile striking an armor plate, thus diminishing the tendency to rebound and the tendency to shatter the hardened core, and lubricating the core in its entrance into and passage through the armor plate. Of par ticular importance is the fact that this particular method enables a smooth and; symmetrical exterior surface to be given the jacket, and that not only are there no external fins, ridges, or other superficial i1.- regularities formed or left in the finished product, but there is no tendency whatever to form such irregularities, since even at the beginning of the condensing operations the outer surface of the jacket is smooth and continuous. We include within the'term condensing operations, all those operations subsequent to the step of indenting the end of the cup, shown in Figs. 2 and 7, by which the point or nose of the jacket is reduced in diameter and the metal contained in the cup end wall and in the side walls adjacent thereto, is compacted,

final desired form andmass, whatever may be the number of steps required for carrying to completion this condensing operation. The concluding step, of inserting theha'rdened steel core in the jacket and bending or spinning the end of the latter over the base ofthe core is or may be the same in our method as in methods previously used in producmg such bullets or projectiles.

j The foregoing description of the implements or means preferably usedin carrying out our method is not intended as in any sense a limitation of the claimed invention to any specific means, but'is merely the part of the disclosure of an operative means for carrying the invention into efi'ect, whereby to enable others'skilled in the art to practice our invention. As concerns the application of power'to the members of the several punch and die couples herein. shown,

power may be applied in any way andby any means suitable for the purpose.

While we have previously indicated the particular utility of the invention for making small arms ammunition, we have not intended thereby to indicate or imply any limitation of the scope of the invention. The same principles are applicable to the production of bullets or projectiles of all calibers adapted to be provided with soft metal jackets of the sort here indicatedf wherefore we claim the novel features in the process herein described, without any limitations as to the size of the articles.

operated on or of the finished products, or as to the use to which finished articles are put; that is, whether they are actually used to pierce armor or to penetrate other substances than armor. The invention is concerned with the method of making the jacket and assembling it with a core, wherefore we claim such method independently of the specific material of the jacket or of the core, or the use to which the bullet is put.

lrVhat we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: r j

l. The method of making jacketed projectile which consists in providing a cup of relatively soft and ductile metal, indenting the end wall of said cup inwardly, closing and compacting the indented end of such cup and tapering such end, and placing a core within the jacket so formed.

2. The method of forming a jacket for a projectile which consists in first providing a substantially cylindrical cup, then v indenting the end wall of said cup inwardly, and then forcing the end of the jacket having such end wall symmetrically toward the axis, in such manner as to compact such end into a substantially solid tapered nose.

3. The method of forming a soft metal jacket for a projectile which consists in provldlng a cup having an end wall, 0&- setting the center of such end wall inwardly into the cup, and then compacting such end of the cup and the wall thereof by successive steps into a substantially solid nose, at the same time forming an external convex taper in such nose and the adjacent walls of the cup. 7

4. The method of forming a soft metal jacket for a projectile which consists in providing a cup having an end wall, 0E- setting the center of such end wall inwardly into the cup, and then compacting such end of the cup and the wall thereof by successive steps into a substantially solid nose, at the same time forming an external convex taper in such nose and the adjacent walls of the cup, and also simultaneously giving the interior of the jacket a predetermined form adapted to fit a metal core.

5. The method of making a soft metal jacket having a solid nose containing a considerable mass of material, for a projectile which consists in first forming a cup having an end wall, then indenting the central part of said end wall inwardly, then swaging the end of the cup surrounding said end wall inwardly toward the axis from all sides, and at the same time confining the metal of such end'wall Within the cup.

In testimony whereof we have afiixed our signatures.

DAVID LINCOLN FRIES. HAROLD F. PHILLIPS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner 0! Patents,

'Washington, D. G. 

